The qualifying round of the National Finance Olympiad 2017 was held at the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP)'s offices in Lahore and Karachi simultaneously on Tuesday with the announcement of 15 winning teams for next round to be held on December 18. The round began with 31 teams from prestigious organizations across Pakistan participating in the qualifying round.
The finance championship is an initiative by ICAP in collaboration with the Unilever Pakistan wherein teams of financial professionals from various organizations compete together to prove their mettle. The Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee of ICAP has been organizing the NFO since 2015. The computer based testing (CBT) along with providing enhanced exam security, allowed quick scoring and the results were announced in the ceremony after a couple of hours.
The top 15 teams from across the country who won the qualifying round are Cherat Cement Company Limited, Orix Leasing Pakistan Limited, Engro Fertilizers Limited, ICI Pakistan Limited, EY Ford Rhodes, Midas Safety Pakistan, Seimens Pakistan Engineering Limited, Grant Thornton Anjuam Rahman, Linde Pakistan, Arif Habib Corporation Limited, Novartis Pharma Pakistan Limited, Kot Addu Power Company Limited (KAPCO), Haleeb Foods Limited, The Professionals' Academy of Commerce (PAC), Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited. Riaz Rehman Chamdia, the President ICAP, announced the winning of 11 teams from Karachi at a ceremony.
Rana Muhammad Usman, the Current Counsel Member ICAP, announced the results from Lahore by declaring four teams as winners. They were KAPCO, Haleeb Foods, PAC led by Nasir Abbas, and Rafhan Maize Products Company Limited. Executive Director ICAP Razi Khan, speaking on the occasion in Lahore, said the competition is a unique opportunity provided by the ICAP in third consecutive year. He said out of 30 teams participating in the competition 15 would be qualifying for the next round.
Riaz Rehman Chamdia, the President ICAP, congratulated the winning teams and wished them good luck for the next round. He acknowledged the rest of the teams and encouraged them to participate next year. He extended his gratitude to the participating organizations; Unilever team, technical partners, examinations department and everyone who is a part of this thrilling initiative.
Chamdia said he was glad that this competition is now an annual event of the ICAP and would like to see it grow and become one of the most sought after events in the near future.